ULAN BATOR,
Mongolia – As events unfold
in Xinjiang Province,
we have seen a resurgence of ethnic
Chinese nationalist sentiment mixed
with fear and mistrust of not just
the Uighur people but also the
outside world.

China’s central and local
governments were quick to accuse the
U.S.-based World Uighur Congress of
fomenting racial tension in Xinjiang
and alluded to "outside" terrorist
and separatist organizations working
together to split up the country.

Meanwhile,
China’s blogosphere has been rife
with Han Chinese outrage at the
foreign media coverage of the
violence, calling it prejudiced and
erroneous. And on the streets of
Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang,
Western
reporters have faced angry mobs of
Han Chinese accusing them
of a long-standing bias against
China.

But looking at the unrest in
Xinjiang from a neighboring country
like Mongolia offers an interesting
perspective on China’s regional
reputation. Whether the Chinese
would acknowledge it or not,
unfortunately the long reach of
history often influences modern
attitudes much more than any current
day media reports.

How to insult a Mongol The first thing we
learned upon arriving at the
Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator was
that one way of insulting a Mongol
was to tell him, "You are Chinese."

Our translator, a good-natured
26-year-old nicknamed Togo,
explained, "It just means that you
think the person is very rude."

That’s nowhere as offensive as it
could be, given the historical
enmity between Mongolia and China.
But this little bit of cultural
exchange, as it were, goes a long
way to illustrate how the Chinese
are viewed by some neighbors – and
how they increasingly may be seen in
light of unrest in Tibet and
Xinjiang.

An
intertwined history Over the centuries,
the two countries have fought
bitterly for supremacy.

One of China’s great but short-lived
dynasties was Mongolian. Kublai
Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan,
established the Yuan dynasty in 1271
and made Beijing the capital of his
empire. (It should be noted that
ethnic Chinese culture flourished
under this "foreign" Imperial Court,
which promoted cultural diversity
and welcomed outside ideas and
outsiders, including Marco Polo.)

The succeeding dynasty, the Ming,
rebuilt and fortified the Great Wall
with the Mongols in mind – to keep
them out of China.

Mongolia, in turn, lost a
considerable amount of territory to
the Chinese led by the Manchu during
the Qing Dynasty. The swath of land
it lost is now known as Inner
Mongolia and is the third largest
province in China, with almost a
fifth of its residents ethnic
Mongols. (In fact, China has more
Mongols than Mongolia.) And they
from time to time accuse the Chinese
government of discriminating against
them.

Inner Mongolia is also where – 800
years after the death of Genghis
Khan, with almost as long a history
of demonizing him as the leader of
savage barbarian hordes – the
Chinese have recently tried to
reinvent the great Mongol warrior as
one of their own. At the height of
this rebranding push, critics
concluded that China’s policy of
assimilating Genghis was meant to
reinforce the official line that
Inner Mongolia has always been an
integral part of China.

Fortunately, for Beijing, Inner
Mongolia has not been riven by the
kind of ethnic strife witnessed in
Tibet or Xinjiang. Perhaps that’s
because – unlike the Uighurs in
Xinjiang province or the Tibetans –
the Mongols actually have their own
nation, even if at times Mongolia
feels constrained by its much more
powerful neighbor.

‘Caught between two hungry wolves’I was particularly
alert when, here in Ulan Bator, Togo
introduced me to curious Mongols as
an American and avoided any mention
of my Chinese roots even when they
were clearly mystified by my
ethnicity.

Later, in private conversation, Togo
described in great detail the
animosity many Mongolians still feel
toward China and the Chinese.

"We are like the deer, caught
between two hungry wolves," he said
to me, referring to Mongolia’s
precarious geography between Russia
and China.

And Russia, many Mongolians feel,
has been the less hungry of the two
– hence the close relationship
between the two communist
governments for several decades. In
recent times, however, officials in
Ulan Bator have played a cautious
game of diplomacy with the Chinese,
who have not hesitated to express
their displeasure when crossed.

Take the Tibet situation, for
example.

Through a common religion, Tibet and
Mongolia have strong historical
ties. Mongolia, which is
predominantly Buddhist, practices
the Yellow Hat sect, whose spiritual
leader is the Dalai Lama.

But when the Dalai Lama last visited
Ulan Bator, in 2006, the Mongolian
government took great pains to keep
the trip low-key, calling it a
religious exchange. After all,
during a 2002 visit by him, the
Chinese government protested by
cutting off rail links with
landlocked Mongolia for two days.

Many Mongolians feel a strong
kinship with Tibet, and this is
especially true for monks. Outside
Gandan Monastery – Mongolia’s
largest and most important Buddhist
monastery – a monk told us that he
had visited Dharamsala, India, many
times to meet the Dalai Lama and
that he hoped to be able to visit
Tibet in his lifetime. But when
asked what he thought about China’s
relationship with Tibet, he
demurred, preferring – like his
government – not to take a public
stance.

Looking farther afield to America
Today, Mongolia looks neither to
Russia nor to China. Instead, the
government – especially under newly
elected President Tsakhia Elbegdorj
– wants to reorient the country
toward the United States and its
close allies, such as South Korea or
Japan.

In fact, Elbegdorj, who in May won
on a campaign of hope and
anti-corruption, was responsible for
steering the nation’s education
system toward adopting English as a
second language instead of Russian.
In his youth, he attended the
University of Colorado-Boulder and
then Harvard’s Kennedy School of
Government. Election campaigners in
Mongolia dubbed him their Barack
Obama, and he won votes from the
country’s overwhelmingly youthful
population.

But America isn’t in the headlines
these days. Xinjiang is. And Togo
has listened to our discussions
about the unrest in Xinjiang with
great curiosity. When I asked him
about the coverage of the story in
Mongolia, he laughed. We’ve been
working so hard this week, he hasn’t
had time to keep up with the news,
he said. But tonight he was going
home to read as much as he could.

Tomorrow, he smiled, we could talk
about it.

Comments

Thanks for this
informative
article.
Wishing that
the Han Chinese
would let
Mongolia have
"Inner
Mongolia." I
wonder if
Mongolia has any
Oil or whatever,
that the Han
Chinese think
they need? HA!
The Mongols have
a great history
and I hope they
keep looking
towards the U.S.
for friendship
etc. And I also
hope the U.S.
Government does
not miss the
opportunity to
be good friends
with Mongolia
and the Mongols.
The U.S. also
needs to support
Tibetan
Independence.

(With that said,
anyone who gets
a chance to
watch the
excellent movie
"Mongol" about
Genghis Khan,in
Mongolian with
English
sub-titles),
please do so.)

Also, with all
that the Mongols
have in common
with the
Tibetans, can we
imagine how
fantastic it
would be if
Tibet was free
of the Han
Chinese yoke? It
would speak well
for the Han
Chinese and
their government
in Peking (yes,
I like the old
spelling), if
they would just
let go of Tibet
and Inner
Mongolia.
Instead of
holding on to
places with
large
populations of
radically
different
cultures etc.,
the Han Chinese
would earn world
praise if they
let Mongolia
proper have
"Inner Mongolia"
now in China,
and leave the
Tibetans free to
have their own
richly deserved
country - toally
free (for ever)
from Chinese
control. The
Tibetans are NOT
Chinese, and the
Mongolians are
NOT Chinese.

The only readon
Peking is
holding on to
"Inner Mongolia"
and Tibet, is
because the Han
Chinese think
that if they let
these two areas
go they will
have a great
loss of face.
On the
contrary! If
China let Tibet
and "Inner
Mongolia" go
they would earn
more respect
from the world
then they could
ever imagine.

Come on Han
Chinese people
and leaders, do
something
besides
screaming at the
world media and
telling them
they are
prejudice
towards you.
And quit trying
to tell everyone
that the Mongols
and Tibetans are
Chinese just
because you drew
Chinese borders
around "Inner
Mongolia" and
Tibet.

After all is
said and done,
you need to
concentrate your
attention on
making better
products for
Wal-Mart instead
of beating up on
your ethnic
"minorities."
All the money
you spend on
sending Riot
Police to crack
skulls somewhere
could be much
better spent on
paying your
workers more to
make better
coffee makers
etc. etc.

Why is the World
press so
reluctant to
accurately
portray the
massive land
grab of China's
Imperialist
invasions by Mao
? Next perhaps
will be the
exposure of
their gains of
parts of Vietnam
and India not to
mention several
offshore
Islands.
As in other
cases around the
world,
oftentimes the
most accurate
gauge of a
country's true
colors is
gleaned by those
in a position to
know best : it's
closest
neighbours (its
population not
the sometimes
illigitimate
dictators).
Germany returned
the conquered
lands from this
same time frame
and the Soviet
(Russia) Empire
from the same
era also has
returned
soverignity to
it's diverse
Nations ... When
will the Chinese
Empire also do
so ??

I spent some
time in Mongolia
during the mid
'90s. They are a
fantastic bunch
of people. When
I told them that
man had landed
on the moon in
1969, they
didn't believe
me. They don't
like Chinese for
sure. They
didn't
appreciate it
when Hillary
Clinton so
rudely did not
drink the
fermented mare's
milk. I still
have contact
with my
interpreters and
one day I want
to go back.

It is no doubt
that Xingiang,
Mongolia and
Tibet are a part
of China. People
in the above
provinces have
lived
harmoiously and
peacefully with
Han Chinese
throughtout the
centuries.
Historically,
the government
has tried very
hard to help
them and to
upgrade their
living standard.
Obveriously, the
ethnic problem
has been
precipitated by
outside
agitators.

As a "Chinese"
(let's be honest
here even if you
are born and
raised in
America as long
as you look
asian you will
always be
considered to be
a Chinese by
everyone else)I
find this
article rather
amusing.
Calling someone
a "Chinese"
maybe an insult
in Mongolia, but
calling someone
a "Mongoloid" is
an insult in the
English
language.

I don't see the
point of the
article other
than the usual
China-bashing?
Bad Chinese,
they are SO
RUDE, we must
CIVILIZE them.

Get your facts
straight there,
buddy!
Your so-called
"flourished"
under Yuan
dynasty means
the whole
Chinese culture
was set back for
hundreds of
years under the
Yuan dynasty.
All southern
Chinese people
who had advanced
to the brink of
Capitialism were
treated as
"Two-legged
Sheep" during
that period of
time. The goal
of the Mongolian
high court was
to make the
whole world a
feeding ground
for their sheeps.
Why do you think
the whole
dynasty only
lasted less than
100 years?
All things, all
hatreds happen
for a reason.
Nobody is
innocent
historically. If
you think the
name "Chinese"
is bad in
Mongolia, try
the name
"American" in
Iraq. Billions
of dollars to
BUY a name
people spit on
in the streets,
really smart!

It is such a
shame that the
main Problem
here is that the
Government
simply is NOT
addressing the
issue at hand.
The issue is
that the
Uighur's have
been repressed
for 60 years by
the Chinese
government's one
sided policy.
The relocation
of millions of
Han Chinese into
Uighurs region
and not giving
equal
opportunity to
the Uighurs in
their own
homeland is the
the ultimate
cause. EXACTLY
similar to the
Situation in
Tibet, China's
main goal has
been to
completely
assimilate/eliminate
the native
population into
their Han
culture. This
is done by mass
population
transfer of Han
Chinese into non
Chinese region
to make those
cities Chinese
cities. In this
day and age,
Such purposely
led policies
will not be
successful
because people
have access to
information and
they see the
result of such
harsh one sided
policies of
Chinese
Government.

Tibetans,
Uighurs,
Mongolians etc
are said to be
part of "56
Chinese
minority", when
the reality is
that we
"minorities" are
not treated like
part of Chinese
society, instead
we are faced
with
discrimination
that only has
gotten worst and
worst each year.
The Chinese
media only shows
killed/injured
Chinese, a very
cruel &
calculated move.
With thousands
of Chinese mob
hunting down
Uighurs & around
20,000 heavily
armed police
deployed, don't
tell me only few
Uighurs were
killed or
injured.
In conclusion,
the issue here
is not the
Uighur people or
the Tibetan
people (last
year), it is the
one sided
Policies carried
out by the
Chinese
Government for
60 years ever
since its
invasion of
these non
Chinese
regions/countries.

A friend of mine
is in Ulanbator
working for an
Australian
mining company.
He talks a lot
about the many
untapped natural
resources that
Mongolia has. If
I was the
Mongolian
government, I
would be very
wary of the
intentions of
both Russia and
China towards my
country.
Especially as
China's
seemingly
insatiable
appetite for
consumption
continues to
grow.

I think that
people are
taking this
article too
personally. I
think it was
well written. I
don't think it
is Bias at all.
There are
personal
opinions of
others, not the
author. Don't
accuse the
writter for
conveying the
thoughts of
someone they
spoke too.

I do think the
Chinese
government uses
a hammer too
often and a
feather to
little. It is a
brutish
government
system. I do
give them credit
for making vast
strides over the
past decade but
they are still
taking their
time catching
up.

Every country in
the world faces
racial and
religious
differences.
Some just don't
let their people
wail on each
other because of
them. (In case
you didn't
notice....those
that let the
beatings
commence are far
behind,
economically and
politically,
those that
don't)

I would not
worry about the
chinese ( In
china) they like
all oppresive
forces will do
their own self
in. For all who
will look to
insult this
stance, I ask
you to exam this
first, how long
can you keep a
people under
your thumb
before they
break it, how
long do the
chinese think
they can push on
all people with
their heavy
handed simple
ways, before
they push to
far? Its funny
to think of what
will happen to
their leaders
when that day
comes

For some
ignorant people
who thinks Mao's
China grabbed
all the land of
Tibet, Inner
Mongolia and
Xinjiang, please
read this
article more
carefully. The
author of this
article told you
that they were
integrated in
Qing Dynasty
which was
established 100
years earlier
than the United
States. By the
way, Ray, why
don't you return
to Europe so
this land can be
returned to its
original owner,
Indians? I can
fully rewrite
your comments
with compelling
arguements by
replacing
"Tibetans and
Mongols" with
"Indians" and
replacing
"Chinese" with
"Europeans". A
bunch of
Hypocrites who
always complains
someone else
stinks but
forgets his own
butt is smeared
with a big pile
of ***t!!!

This is an
excellent
article, and
very accurate.
Mongolian
history is
amazing.....and
even Tibetans
draw their roots
from Mongolia.
After Genghis
Khan, his sons
bestowed the
title "Dalai
Lama" (means
Ocean of Wisdom)
and the lands of
Tibet to the
high Lama. His
grandson, Kublai
Khan. founded
the Yuan Dynasty
in China (note
name of money
;-)

While Genghis
Khan was brutal
and harsh, his
sons and
grandsons
brought a golden
age to most of
the known world.
China Govt
would have us
forget history;
particularly
theirs.

This is a bad
time in which we
live; soon China
will
fall....again....but
not without much
pain and
anguish. It is
for the reason
alone, that the
Dalai Lama has
been so patient
with them;
trying to get
them to avoid
this
destruction. Not
because he,
Tibetans, or
Buddhists are
weak.....because
they see the
outcome of hate,
anger,
destruction, and
violence.....perpetuation
of the same. It
seems to be the
fate of humans.
But where death
came, flowers
will grow.

So, there is
hope....and that
hope will flower
in Mongolia.
They are strong
enough to assure
that.

"There isn't a
country in that
region that
doesn't despise
the Chinese or
their
government.The
rest of the
world is about
to find out
why."

I find it
interesting that
you're saying
all the
countries that
China borders
hate the
Chinese, yet if
the Han Chinese
hate on others
it's a crime(!).
If Inner
Mongolia wanted
to seperate like
Uyghurs there'd
be massive
demonstrations
just like in
Tibet and
Xinjiang but
there isn't, ask
yourself why.

Whenever for
someone to tell
the Chinese to
free Tibet or
Mongolia, let's
tell the
American to free
America, the
Australian to
free Australia.
Give those lands
back to the
natives.
Unfortunately,there
are not enough
natives to raise
their voice now,
because they
were genocided
two hundreds
year ago.

Before the
invasion of the
mongols Song
dynasty was at
the peak of
Chinese
civilization
(more so than
the Tang
dynasty) in
terms of arts
and technology.
While Europe was
still in dark
age Song dynasty
was showing
signs of
evolving into
the first
capitalist
society in the
world, had
Mongols not
invaded it.
Mongols attemped
to exterminate
Chinese
initially by
killing anyone
with the most
common five last
names (Zhang,
Li, Wang etc.
but not Mong)
but soon gave
up. However,
the mass murdur
committed by the
mongols
throughout
numerous Chinese
and European
cities resulted
in hundreds on
millions of
human death.
This is
historical fact,
one simply needs
to go to
wikipedia or any
open respected
media to find it
out.
There is nothing
to glorify
behind the vast
territory
occupied by the
Yuan empire, or
any other empire
in the history
of mankind for
that matter.
Under the
mongolian rule
Yuan dynasty was
the only dynasty
throughout
Chinese history
that divided all
people into four
classes (similar
to India's caste
system), where
Han Chinese were
at the lowest
level. The
animosity of
Hans towards
mongolian during
the later
rebellion and
the
establishment of
Ming dynasty was
not unfounded.

Ming dynasty
didn't control
inner and outer
Mongolia, but
Qing dynasty
under Manchu
minority rule
did. Manchu of
course were
completely
assimilated by
the Han Chinese.
The Mandarin
spoken today was
a hybrid
language that
had strong
Manchu dialect
influence and
share no
resemblence to
traditional
spoken Chinese,
which for
example
resembles
Cantonese,
Taiwanese, Wu
dialect or
Japanese much
more (Japan
copied arts,
technologies,
languages
starting from
Jing, Tang
dyanasties).

Both inner and
outer Mongolia
were under the
rule of Republic
of China (now
Taiwan) right
after the fall
of Qing dynasty
in 1911. Outer
Mongolia was
then allowed to
be independent
by secret deal
reached between
the Communists
in China and
Russia, a deal
which even today
Republic of
China (Taiwan)
refused to
recognize (the
map of official
Republic of
China still
includes outer
Mongolia).

One can change
the citizenship
but not the
ethnicity. The
YDNA and mtDNA
in every single
cell of your
body speak for
what your
ancestors have
passed on to you
and make you
look the way you
look. It is
unfortunate if
one forgets the
history (the
story) of his or
her ancestors.

China has always
been hungry for
power and more
and more land.
They conquered
mongolia, tibet
and even parts
of India. And
they still have
border disputes
with India..Go
figure. Its high
time that they
liberate these
indigenously
different people
and let them
have their own
country. Time
for China to
fall in USSRs
footsteps.

To all the
people seemingly
defending Mao
(modern day
China) and his
actions let us
not forget…he is
a brutal
dictator who had
millions of
people
slaughtered and
who allowed
millions more to
die of
starvation. The
Chinese people
have allowed
themselves to be
brained washed
like the North
Korean’s but it
does not mean
that those of us
leaving outside
that restrictive
world can’t do a
little research.
The U.S. will
never confront
China as long as
the American
people keep
buying up all
the cheap
products. I have
nothing against
this, but as an
American
understand that
you are
supporting a
government that
has done far
more killing and
destruction then
the Nazi’s did.
All so you can
have your cheap
products at
Wal-Mart.

As an American
with Mongolian
heritage, I
think the
biggest problem
is China's
strategy of
relocating
thousands of Han
to areas
historically
belonging to
other
ethnicities with
the intention of
diluting,
marginalizing
and eventually
stamping out the
original
culture. This is
not respectful
and deserves to
be chastised by
the
international
community. Most
importantly, the
world needs to
know the Uighur
situation is not
a first or
isolated case of
this ethnic
cleansing. Their
unrest is
justified.

Ask me,
The story is
about China. We
get it that you
don't like what
they did 300 yrs
ago. Why should
we then like it
that China is
doing, as you
claim, the exact
same thing NOW
???
In fact the
story is more
specific to
Mongolia so your
concern should
read " Don't
forget where
most of the
MONGOLIA land
comes from....."

Interesting
article,
Adrienne. While
I did find the
"How to insult a
Mongol" section
a bit obtuse,
the article on
the whole does a
good job of
laying out the
premises and
circumstances
surrounding
Mongol & Han
ethnic
relations, and
how it
intertwines with
Mongolia &
China's
political
relationship.

Mongolia's
aspirations for
Western
alignment are
especially
important,
noting China's
current
anti-Western
social
atmosphere &
West-neutral
business
attitude.

I find Ray
Manhattan's
comment amusing,
as if the US
ever gave up
part of its
sovereign soil
simply for PR's
sake or for the
sake of cultural
differences. The
American Civil
War and the
sometimes-aggressive
rebuffs of
Texas's repeated
secession
attempts come to
mind as potent
counterexamples.

Further, "mo"
would do well to
read up on what
China, as a
technically
victorious
nation, gained
(or rather,
lost) in the
Treaty of Paris.
Too many
Americans are
far too glad to
forget (or never
bother knowing)
even modern
history for the
sake of
furthering the
illusion of
personal moral
superiority.